Skin ink
by Snnow
Summary: Jack gets a new tattoo: something he will never forget. Or someone. (One-shot)


A/N: Hi! I'm Snnow, and this is the very first time I write in English. It was hard. This is a translation from Spanish. Just a one-shot I wrote a long long long time ago. I should warn you: this is Sparrabeth, and I don't treat Angelica so well. So if you like Angelica, you better not read it. First: sorry, I've learned English by myself and I'm improving it (that's what I like to say to myself).

Secondly, but most important: a HUGE "THANK YOU" to the most amazing writter who ever wrote in this site: **Florencia7**. I bet you've read "_Vulnerant Omnes, Ultima Necat_", and "_Have we met before_?", or "_Thunderhearts_". And now "I_f & Only If_". And if you haven't, what are you waiting for!? She did the beta of this one-shot. I'm so honored and grateful... Actually, she put the soul to this story. I'm not _that_ good at this.

So, have a nice trip! :) This story takes place after "On Stranger Tides".

PS: You know, I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. It belongs to Disney.

* * *

Once upon a time, Jack had thought that it would've been a proper or even a necessary course of action to get a new tattoo. Still, his recent decision, his need, to get this particular tattoo had caught him a little off guard.

He looked at his chest, at the two black bullet scars that were now accompanied by a new image. Well done. Yes. He felt rather glad he'd managed to escape rather quickly from that unsavory place where a few sailors had been waiting for their turn to get their memories engraved into their skin with black ink.

Now that he was back in his cabin, Jack could take a closer look at the animal that was painted over his ribcage. His skin there was still sensitive and itchy, but he kept himself from scratching it to avoid the risk of infection and the risk was high considering the state of his nails.

A knock on the door startled him, interrupting his scrutiny. His eyes shifted to the side and he saw a figure staring at him from the door.

Jack rolled his eyes and smiled at the black-haired woman who gave him a sly smile in return, before closing the door behind her and taking a seat on the bed, her brown eyes penetrating his when he made an effort to hold her gaze.

"I didn't know where you went," she said, her palms moving to caress Jack's back.

She loved the poem that was inscribed on his skin there. She didn't really know the meaning of it... But she was neither well-read nor curious, so she couldn't care less about the meaning of the poem. She liked it because it was mysterious and mystery was a part of Jack's charm. She loved to touch the words on his back when he was all over her at night. She could feel that he was hers. All his tattoos, all of them. Every piece of his skin belonged to her.

He was looking at himself in the mirror while she was looking at his reflection, admiring the man she now had by her side every day of her life.

"Should I be worried?" Angelica asked with a shadow of a smile on her lips, tracing the new tattoo on Jack's chest, contemplating it. She delicately kissed his neck without noticing that Jack's countenance turned glum. "Should I?"

"You should be worried about your father trying to murder me every time he sees me," Jack growled.

"I'll take care of that. I promise. He's just jealous about his little girl, all grown-up."

Jack smiled a broken smile, his eyes fixed on his chest.

"Luv… Could you do the morning shift today? I prefer to do the night shift. You know, The Pearl and I, sailing through the night…"

Angelica half-closed her eyes and got up from the bed.

"Always the damned boat first," she muttered, throwing a hurt look at Jack.

"You know, if you love Captain Jack Sparrow, you must love the Black Pearl. Don't forget that".

Laughing, she rolled her eyes and headed for the door.

"I won't. You're unbearable, Jack. But I still love you. Or perhaps I should be more reasonable?" She teased.

"Aye, maybe," Jack answered absently, trying to conceal the indifference in his voice, which wasn't easy, even though he kept reminding himself that without Angelica he would've been a dead man. For the time being she was their, the Pearl's and his, salvation.

Before she stepped out of the Captain's Quarters, Angelica took one more look at Jack's new tattoo.

"By the way..." she said as an afterthought.

"Aye?"

"Another bird? Wasn't one quite enough?" She asked, watching his face in an effort to decipher his slightly baffling reaction to her words.

Because a candelabra full of candles couldn't have brightened the room more than Jack's eyes did when he whispered. "Once- One's never quite enough, luv. And this… this is not just a bird. It's a _swan._"

Angelica raised her eyebrows, a mixture of amusement and sincere surprise clear on her face. "I didn't know you were a swan lover," she said dubiously.

Jack's eyes darkened with longing. He looked into the mirror and gently, carefully touched the _swan_ that was tattooed right above his heart, its wings spread as if it was about to spring into the air and fly away. "You have no idea."

* * *

_Let me know what you think, it would mean a **LOT (seriously, it would) **:)_

_Snnow._


End file.
